True Riders (15 page)

Kiersten was watching her, waiting. “At least let me take her back into the warm-up ring,” she suggested. “You don't want to let her remember a bad experience in there, right? Then you can decide about the division.”

“I just don't know,” Brooke said slowly. “I mean, I appreciate the offer, but I don't want anything bad to happen.”

“I know. But listen. Foxy is a great pony. She has a super-sweet temperament and good basic training. All she needs is . . .” Kiersten paused and shot Brooke a sidelong look.

Brooke blinked, suddenly thinking back again to Adam taking Foxy over those new jumps recently. “A confident ride?” Brooke said softly.

The other girl grinned sheepishly. “No offense. I just think maybe you're too nervous to, you know, deal with a pony who's a little nervous too.”

“Yeah.” Brooke thought about that. “Maybe you're right.”

“So maybe all you need is to see her go with someone else,” Kiersten went on, tugging on the reins as the pony tried to wander off in search of a tastier grazing spot. “Who knows? Maybe that'll be all you need to be ready to ride her in that eq division later!”

Brooke didn't know about that. But suddenly she was tired of worrying. Besides, Kiersten was right. A pony was always learning, for better or for worse. So if Brooke couldn't give Foxy a good show experience herself, maybe Kiersten could. And if not? Well, Brooke would have to worry about that later.

“Okay,” she said quickly, not wanting to give herself time for second-guessing. She pulled off her helmet and handed it to Kiersten. “Let's try it.”

CHAPTER

KIERSTEN SMILED. “GOOD.
Come on, foxy—we don't have much time.”

Soon the stirrups were adjusted and she was in the saddle. Brooke stayed at the pony's head as they walked back over to the schooling ring, her hand hovering near the bridle, ready to grab the reins if Foxy did anything silly.

To her surprise, though, the mare seemed fine. Yes, her ears were still pricked and her head was a little high. But Kiersten steered Foxy easily past a crying toddler and a couple of prancey horses, without Foxy doing anything more than pricking her ears and swishing her tail.

“Good luck.” Brooke stepped aside as Foxy reached the gate and halted.

Kiersten shot her a quick smile. “Thanks.” Then she rode into the ring, turning Foxy immediately to the left to follow a big chestnut horse trotting along at the rail.

Brooke stood at the fence, clutching the top board so hard that her fingernails dug into the wood as she watched them warm up. Foxy still looked more alert than usual, and once she skittered to the side when a speedy little pony passed by a little too closely. But none of it seemed to faze Kiersten, who looked as relaxed as if she were just ambling along out in Foxy's quiet pasture at home. After trotting and cantering in each direction, Kiersten aimed the pony at the crossrail in the middle of the ring.

“Heads up! Crossrail!” she shouted.

Another pony that had been coming at the jump from the opposite direction veered off, and Foxy cantered up to the jump and leaped over it, leaving so much room to spare that Brooke was surprised that Kiersten didn't get bounced right out of the saddle. But she just laughed and patted Foxy, then turned to take the jump again in the other direction. This time Foxy jumped more normally, and after two more times Kiersten patted her once more and then rode out of the ring.

“Wow,” Brooke said when the pair halted beside her. “That looked great! You're a really good rider. And Foxy really seems to like you.”

Kiersten smiled. “Thanks. I like her, too. Her trot is amazingly smooth!” She rubbed the pony's withers and shot Brooke a sidelong smile. “So what do you think? Can we give that beginner horse division a try?”

Brooke smiled back. “Absolutely!”

A few minutes later Brooke stood at the fence watching as Kiersten steered Foxy over the course of crossrails in the main ring. Foxy looked a little anxious on their opening circle, and she hesitated slightly in front of the first jump, which was decorated with pots of bright red plastic roses on each end.

But Kiersten urged her forward, and a second later the pony was arcing over the fence and cantering off toward the next one. Brooke held her breath through the first half of the course, but let it out when she realized that her pony was doing great. She got a little nervous again when the flat class started, since that involved all the horses and ponies in the division walking, trotting, and cantering in the ring at the same time. But Kiersten managed to keep Foxy mostly away from the others, and aside from a little spook when a spectator cheered right next to her, the pony once again performed like she'd been showing for ages.

In the end Foxy came in third in the entire division and even earned a “nice pony” from the judge when she handed over the ribbons. Brooke was bursting with pride as she borrowed Kiersten's cell phone to snap a few pictures of Foxy posing with her yellow ribbon flapping from her bridle.

When Brooke turned around to return the phone, she spotted several familiar figures heading their way from the direction of the parking lot.

“There you are, sweetie!” Brooke's mother hurried forward, looking casual and sporty in a pair of spotless jeans, black leather ankle boots, and an argyle sweater that Brooke guessed she probably thought looked horsey. “Surprise!”

Brooke's stepfather was right behind her, holding one of the twins' hands in each of his. “The birthday party finished a little early, so we thought we'd come cheer you on.”

“Yeah,” Ethan spoke up. “Owen threw up all over the cake!”

Emma giggled. “It was gross!”

Brooke barely heard them. She was amazed to see Adam right behind the others. “Hey,” he said, coming over to pat Foxy. “Practice got postponed.”

Just then Brooke's mother noticed the ribbon flapping from Foxy's bridle. “Oh dear. Did we miss everything?” she exclaimed. “But it looks like you and Foxy did well—congrats, Brooke!”

“Thanks.” Brooke blushed. “But it wasn't me. Kiersten rode her in the classes.”

“Yeah, Brooke was nice enough to give me the first turn,” Kiersten spoke up. “But she's going to ride in the next division. Right, Brooke?”

Brooke took a deep breath, looking from her new friend to the others. “Maybe,” she said. Then she looked at Foxy, and her heart swelled with love and pride. How could she ever have doubted that Foxy could do this? “I mean, yes. For sure.”

She felt a shiver of nerves—but some excitement, too. After seeing how well Foxy had done with Kiersten, Brooke realized she couldn't wait to give it a try herself!

The equitation division didn't go quite as smoothly as the first one. In the flat class Brooke accidentally asked her pony to canter once when she was supposed to be trotting, and in her first jump course one of Foxy's hooves clunked a rail and sent it clattering to the ground, which spooked Foxy and made Brooke have to circle before the next jump. Still, when it was all over, they ended up finishing in sixth place on the flat and fourth in their second over-fences class.

“Yay, Brooke!” Ethan cheered as Kiersten hung the two new ribbons on the pony's bridle. “And yay, Foxy!”

“Yeah,” Emma added with a giggle. “She's a cow pony
and
a jumping pony!”

That gave Brooke an idea. She glanced at her parents. “They're doing some fun classes after the main divisions are done,” she told them. “Including a Western leadline class for kids. Maybe I could take E in that one if he wants?”

“Really?” Ethan shouted. “Hooray!”

“What about me?” Emma whined.

Brooke tugged on her sister's pigtail. “Maybe you could do the English leadline class.”

“Oh.” Emma thought about that for a second. “Okay! I'd rather be a jumper than a cowgirl anyway.”

Brooke laughed, not bothering to explain that there wouldn't be any jumping. Meanwhile her stepfather pulled out his car keys. “I'll run home and grab your Western saddle,” he offered, hurrying off.

“Thanks,” Brooke's mother called after him. Then she patted Emma on the head. “Come on, everyone. Let's go get a snack to celebrate, hmm?” She smiled at Kiersten, who was holding Foxy's reins. “Maybe we can even find some cookies for Foxy.”

As the others wandered toward the refreshment stand, Adam pulled Brooke aside. “Hey,” he said. “Um, sorry about bailing on you.”

“That's okay,” Brooke said, even though it wasn't, not really. But what was the point of making him feel bad, especially when everything had turned out so great in the end?

“Cool.” He looked relieved. “Anyway, that Kiersten girl seems nice.”

“Yeah, she is.” Brooke shot a look at Kiersten, who was laughing over something Emma had just said. “Really nice.”

Brooke was pretty sure the two of them were going to be good friends. It would be fun to have someone to share her pony with—well, other than the twins. Maybe her siblings would want to keep riding, and maybe not. Either way, Brooke was sure now that she and Foxy could handle it—with a little help from her new friend.

That evening after dinner Brooke was so exhausted, she could barely drag herself over to the counter to put her dishes into the sink. She picked up a dishtowel, but her mother immediately plucked it out of her hand.

“Your father can dry tonight, sweetie,” she said, tossing the towel at Brooke's stepfather. “You go on up to bed. You've had a long day.”

Brooke thanked her and headed upstairs. After peeling off her show clothes, she stumbled into the bathroom and took a quick shower, not wanting to go to bed covered in dust and sweat and horse hair.

The water and the sweet smell of her favorite raspberry shampoo actually woke her up a little. So after pulling on her pajamas, she grabbed her laptop and sat cross-legged on her bed, not wanting to leave the Pony Post in suspense about how the show had gone.

First she uploaded some of the photos her stepfather, Kiersten, and Adam had forwarded from their phones. Then she opened a text box and filled the Pony Posters in on everything that had happened at the show, from her attack of nerves in the schooling ring to Kiersten's great ride in the beginner horse division to her own performance in the equitation classes. And of course she couldn't forget to mention her little brother's triumphant, blue-ribbon-winning ride in the leadline class. Okay, so all the kids had won a blue ribbon, but that hadn't stopped Ethan from declaring himself the world's greatest cowboy ever!

Finally she was pretty sure she'd told them everything. Reading back over what she'd just posted, though, she realized there was one more thing she wanted to say.

[BROOKE]
By the way, I almost forgot to thank u guys for talking me into doing the show even tho I was scared. And also for always believing in me and Foxy, even when I wasn't quite sure I believed in us myself. The good news is, I def believe in us now! And the next time I get nervous—and I know there will be a next time, lol!—I can look back on this day and know that Foxy and I can do anything!!!